Wednesday, August 26, 2015

After two members of The Freedom Front are arrested and
interrogated by the UZTA’s tyrannical President Nicks, Rain Hawkins and her
friends face the alarming reality that their plans to liberate the mixed zones
across the United Zones of The Authority might not come to fruition.

While the resistance movement is growing outside the walls
of the zones, the president’s forces are strengthening and putting citizens
everywhere in more peril than ever. When Rain receives warnings that her
cousin, Calista, has agreed to support plans to kill the mixed zones, and that
her life could be on the line at the upcoming pure zone initiation ceremony,
she must decide where her loyalties lie and if all of her allies can be
trusted.

As The Freedom Front use their abilities to unravel the
mystery of the ceremony, The Authority captures some of their friends, forcing
TFF to either go into hiding, or plan a rescue mission that could jeopardize
everything they’ve been fighting for.

About Sarah Elle Emm

Sarah Elle Emm is the author of the Harmony Run Series, a young-adult fantasy and dystopian series, released in May
2012 by Winter Goose Publishing. (PRISMATIC, May 2012, OPALESCENT,
February 2013, CHATOYANT, September 2014, NACREOUS, August 2015)
Her debut fiction novel, MARRYING MISSY, was published by Bird Brain Publishing in October 2011. Sarah
is a graduate of The University of Evansville, she has lived and worked in
Mexico, Germany, England, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and has traveled extensively
beyond. Sarah lives in Naples, Florida with her family. When she’s not walking
the plank of her daughters’ imaginary pirate ship or snapping photos of
Southwest Florida scenery, she is writing.

Fun
Facts about Sarah Elle Emm by the author

Writing Playlist

So…Music. Some authors swear by it. They have their playlist
set in the background while they pen their latest manuscript.

Me? Not exactly. Music is very important to me. I believe in
dance parties, and by dance parties I mean cranking up my I-pod to the music
fitting my mood, be this salsa, classic rock, blues, country, classical,
whatever, and dancing alone in my room or kitchen. (Yes, I said classical and
country in the same list).

My kids may or may not be in attendance. They like to watch
and laugh. Sometimes, they join in. But as far as my writing process goes, the
music is sort of my warm up. So I might turn on some music that fits my mood
for parts of the story and listen to it in my car or at my desk before I write,
but not while I am actually writing. I need it to be quiet in the room, so I
can tell the story…(Ahem, hear what my characters are trying to tell me). ;)

While I wrote NACREOUS, and the other books in the Harmony
Run Series, my favorite music warm-up to set the mood was Lorde. Specifically,
the songs Team and A World Alone. In fact, if any of the
books from my series could be made for film, I would beg producers to include
one of those songs in the movies.

My Writing Process

I can’t sit down and force myself to write every day because
it begins to feel too mechanical, but I am definitely one of those people who
thinks about writing, story ideas, characters, scenarios all of the time, awake
or asleep.

I love using my dreams in my writing and have written a few
of them into scenes in the Harmony Run Series. Back in college, the good ol’
stone ages, I had one of the most terrifying dreams of my life about a man with
a triangular-shaped eye chasing me down a corridor, one door after the other,
with this woman’s voice echoing all around us, telling him to kill me. When I
got to the end of the corridor, I opened the last door, and he was standing
there facing me. I woke up sobbing.

About a year later, a psychology professor at my university
asked some of us to share dreams with him so he could demonstrate dream
analysis. I bravely raised my hand, (this was huge for me, since I am a very
shy in person), and shared my dream in vivid detail. After I finished talking,
the entire class got eerily quiet and the professor told me I was dealing with
issues beyond his realm of help, and went on to the next student’s dream. That
student shared a dream about not being able to make a goal in a soccer match,
and the professor dissected his dream in depth for fifteen minutes.

Years later, I incorporated that dream, adding on some
twists and turns of course, into book one from the Harmony Run Series,
PRISMATIC.

I also come up with ideas when I’m looking out of the
kitchen window, when I’m walking, driving, cooking, gardening, taking my kids
to martial arts, helping with their homework, basically, every waking moment. I
take heaps of notes. I jot notes down for days. And when I’m ready, I sit down
and type everything I can. I woke up the other night, and grabbed the notebook
and pen beside my bed and wrote down an idea for another story. So my writing process is sort of a twenty-four hour thing.

Oh, and probably the most important part of the process…How
could I forget? My dog, Shorty, has to harass me to sit in my lap throughout
the day. She eventually gives up and sleeps at my feet or

nearby. She spares me the occasional glance or sighs every so often when I talk
too much. Yes, I like to talk aloud to myself more often than not. If that dog
could talk…Well, thankfully that’s not an issue. Here’s a photo of my writing
pal…

Sunday, August 23, 2015

International
best-selling author Traci L. Slatton has just released BLOOD SKY, the 4th
book in her dystopian After Series that combines the apocalyptic with a
poker game played in the American West to save the world. And there’s romance.
She claims her characters led her there! Reviewers of her previous books praise
her characters as “Believable, energetic, interesting
characters who make very human choices facing inhumane foes and unbelievable circumstances.”
Indeed, Slatton informs us that “facing our
choices is part of maturation.”

Slatton, who
lives in New York with her artist husband, spends most of her time writing. She
is also growing her independent press, Parvati Press. She provided a previous interview for this blog when she released BROKEN, a paranormal historical fantasy.

Q: You have
merged several genres into your new novel, BLOOD SKY, including,
Dystopian/apocalyptic/American Western/Romance. How did you conceive of the
story? Did you start with the concept of the world coming to an end and then
look for intriguing ways to keep that from happening?

Traci L.
Slatton: Joyce,
good question and good eye, I did merge those genres. The whole series started
with a scene that flashed into my mind a few years ago. It was a man and a
woman, very much in love, walking away from each other. Behind them stretched a
desolate world. From that initial scene came the whole edifice of the series….
I’m not sure I intended to merge the different genres, it just happened as the
story unfolded and I stayed true to it.

Q: What
inspired you to use a poker game as a means to win or lose all? Do you play
poker? Did you have to research the game?

Traci L.
Slatton: I
grew up playing poker at the kitchen table with my mother, grandmother, sister,
and various assorted friends and beaux. Poker was a time for us to connect and
also a time for storytelling. My mother and grandmother were great raconteurs,
and they usually had me in stitches over their tales.

Yes,
I did have to do some research. My husband Sabin isn’t much for card games so I
haven’t played in a while. I didn’t want to rely solely on my memory. Also, I
played out the hands I wrote about.

Q: Reviewers of
your previous books tout your characters. How do you make them engaging – especially
in a dystopian world? Why do readers care what happens to them?

Traci L.
Slatton: First,
thank you for compliment! Second, for creating characters, I use two different
methods. One is a character X system. This is a variation on something learned
in David Freeman’s Beyond Structure screenwriting class.

A
fully dimensional character needs 3-4 character traits to flesh him or her out.
Fewer than that, the character feels flat; more than that, and it’s hard to get
a handle on who the character is. So I draw out an X on a clean sheet of paper
and I label each of the end-points with a character trait. I try to make sure
that at least one of the traits isn’t too noble—I think it’s hard to relate to
a character who’s too perfect. For example, Arthur’s basic four traits are:
Charismatic, Intellectually Brilliant, Athletic, and Jealous. There are
nuances, of course. But I always have the character X on hand when I work. It
helps me keep the character coherent.

There’s
another technique that I also use. I studied astrology for a long time, and I
draw out charts for my characters. Sometimes the charts are just partial
horoscopes, but they speak to me in rich symbolic form. For example, Arthur has
Sagittarius rising and a Leo sun, Venus in Virgo. Emma has Virgo rising—the
classic healer—and moon in Leo. Her moon interlocks with Arthur’s sun, and
Arthur’s Venus in Virgo shows his appreciation of her.

Luca
Bastardo, the protagonist of my historical novel IMMORTAL, had a hell of a tight
Pluto-Venus square.

Those
astrological signatures communicate to me in rapid shorthand and help me with
character development.

Q: What do fans
of dystopian fiction expect to read in a dystopian novel?

Traci L.
Slatton: They
expect to enter a speculative world that intrigues them and enlarges their
consciousness, that shows a possibility under certain conditions. They expect
the protagonists to meet extreme challenge and hardship, thus revealing their
intrinsic character.

Q: How helpful
is setting (Old West?) to tell your story? Does it add to the suspense,
romance, or character development?

Traci L.
Slatton: Well,
the Old West just crept itself in, unbidden. I work in two ways in writing a
novel: 1, from an outline, and 2, from wild inspiration. I usually start a
novel in a burst of oceanic creativity, from a scene or a character who emerged
from my unconscious. But sometime during the first chapter I’ll write an
outline to structure the story. There is craft involved, you know?

But
I also allow and cultivate the oceanic, protean nature of creativity, which
means that themes and motifs and characters crop up and I don’t know why but I allow
them to emerge and then I pursue them. It’s a process of trust and discovery,
and it’s part of the fun of writing a novel.

So
that’s how Outpost City and the Old West came into my dystopian tale. I think
it adds resonance and richness….

Q: I know that
you write to entertain, but in previous books you’ve also had a message or two
that you wanted to deliver. Is that true for BLOOD SKY? Did you have something
you wanted readers to think about?

Traci L.
Slatton: There
are some ideas that matter to me. For one, we have greater abilities than the
concrete senses that Newtonian science acknowledges, and I try to share that
with readers. Also, BLOOD SKY turns around Emma’s choices. She has to come to
understand that she is making a choice at every turn. I think facing our
choices is part of maturation.

Q: Does humor
help to tell your story or develop your characters?

Traci L.
Slatton: There
tends to be humor in my stories, and my characters tend to have humor. Some of
my characters can be humorless if that’s who they are—I am true to my
characters. Arthur’s a bit humorless, I find. But he’s so hot, does it matter?

Q: What’s
next?Will you leave the dystopian
world?

Traci L.
Slatton: I
write the After Series novels between stand alone works.

Having
finished BLOOD SKY, I’m currently working on a novel called THE YEAR OF LOVING.
It was entitled THE YEAR OF LOVING A YOUNGER MAN, but then the protagonist went
and got herself involved in a love triangle with a younger man AND an older
man, and her best friend has cancer, so I realized it was THE YEAR OF LOVING. I’m
also researching the siege of Montsegur and the Cathars for a historical novel.

Q: What have
you been doing since you last visited here almost a year ago? Anything fun?

Traci L. Slatton is the international bestselling author of
historical, paranormal, and romantic novels, including IMMORTAL (BantamDell)
and BROKEN; the award-winning dystopian After Series which includes FALLEN,
COLD LIGHT, FAR SHORE, and BLOOD SKY; the bittersweet romantic comedy THE LOVE
OF MY (OTHER) LIFE; and the vampire art history romp THE BOTTICELLI AFFAIR. She
has also published the lyrical poetry collection DANCING IN THE TABERNACLE and
THE ART OF LIFE, a photo-essay about figurative sculpture through the ages. Her
book PIERCING TIME & SPACE explores the meeting ground of science and
spirituality.

In a time of apocalyptic despair, love is put to the test… Deep in
the badlands of Outpost City, in the Dark Horse saloon, a poker game is being
played. The stakes are life and death—for the world. What can Emma afford to
lose? Will she gamble on herself, or on Arthur? Will love find a way when the
apocalypse closes in? A mystical odyssey, a haunting love…

When she’s not
writing, Sherel is a Family Nurse Practitioner. She is also taking drawing lessons
and cake decorating classes, loves reading , and enjoys crocheting. She is currently working on the next Princess Janai story.

Don't miss the excerpt and the opportunity for a giveaway at the end of the interview.

Sherel Ott: I chose
fantasy/adventure as a genre because I like how you can step outside of your
reality into a whole other world.Being able to immerse yourself in it and forget about your present
reality and problems for a while.

Q: What or who
inspired your main character, Princess Janai? Did you base her on a real
person?

Sherel Ott: My main
character was named after my niece Janai. It was originally written with her in
mind, but once I started writing…the character took on a life of her own, she
wanted to be different.

Q: How do you
write to reach your target age group, which I understand to be middle grade
girls? Do you use different dialogue techniques, backstory that will appeal to
this age group, or characters of their age? Other?

Sherel Ott: I’m a big kid
at heart, and I remember some of the things I went through as a tween.I listen to some of the stories that
children talk about today and the issues that they face.I then put myself in those shoes and
try to see things from their point of view. I do try to give a little back
story so that people will/can understand where a certain character is coming
from. Having the characters in that age group also makes it more relatable for
the readers, they are more apt to identify with someone of their own age.

Sherel Ott: In the
beginning, it was mostly to entertain. That is mostly what the first book is,
but the follow up books will be both entertaining as well have an
education/lesson imbedded in there.

Q: Do you use
setting to help tell your story and/or advance your theme? If so, how?

Sherel Ott: The setting is
more of a backdrop for the stories.They do help advance the story along in places but they are not the main
focus.I want to provide an all
around experience for the reader as much as possible.Give enough details but allow their own minds to fill it in.

Q: Why are your
characters “relatable”? Does humor help you develop your characters? Why will
your readers care about them?

Sherel Ott: I try to make
them as human as possible, with feelings and emotions that we all go through.I think giving them those emotions and
feelings helps the readers to like or dislike them making them relatable to
either themselves or someone they know.Then, they will either cheer for them or hope they get their come-uppance
for their bad deeds.Not always
will they though…that would end the story too soon.

Q: Is the
concept of heroes vs villains important to tell your story?

Sherel Ott: Actually,
no.I try to make it more the
situation that creates the villain or bad person.In some instances who you think is bad might actually be a
good person, just misguided in what they do and believe and vice versa.The main antagonist in the series will
be Serlina, but as the stories progress, you will find a more human side to
her.It might not justify what she
is doing but you will understand more from her point of view.

Q: What do you
believe are the most important elements of a story to reach the middle age
group of readers?

Sherel Ott: I believe that
if you have something exciting going on that they would really like to do
themselves and add a little danger, a lot of colorful characters and believable
situations (whether it is make-believe or real) it will garner their
attention.If the story and
details of the surroundings are enticing, you just might have their
attention.The middle age group vary
in their level of imagination and maturity.You want to try to appeal to all levels without alienating
anyone.

Q: What’s next?

Sherel Ott: In the next
story, we find Princess Janai at the end of the mandatory training sessions and
conflicts arising within her own group.We find one of the supporting characters having to deal with her low
self-esteem and self-confidence, and as she comes to terms with her issues of
her weight and size; she finds a friend in someone else who is going through
the same exact problem, but a little opposite.

Q: Tell us
about Sherel Ott. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Sherel Ott: When I’m not
writing, I’m a Family Nurse Practitioner.I love helping take care of people and I chose this particular path
because I saw that a lot of the providers were becoming more and more
specialized.Being a family
practice provider was becoming a dying art.We have
Pediatrician…Internalist…Cardiologist…Nephrologist…Gastroenterologist, but not
a lot of general practitioners; people who can take care of you from as I was
told… from lust to dust.I’m also
taking drawing lessons and cake decorating classes on and off.Reading has always been a favorite pass
time of mine as well as crocheting.

About Sherel
Ott

An eclectic
collector of animation movies, Sherel Ott is a writer of fantasy and romance
stories. One day while watching an animated movie, she noticed that there
weren’t a lot of movies or books with girls of color in leading roles…as
heroines, adventurers or with strong moral characters and wondered… Where were
the influential leaders, doctors, lawyers or royalty of color? Why weren’t
there any strong black female characters where a girl of color could be proud
of her skin color and the type of person representing and say … “I want to be
like her!” Wanting something more for her own nieces to look up to and strive
to emulate, other than what girls of color were currently being portrayed as or
should settle for is how her book initially took form. She wanted to show that
there are black princesses, warriors, adventurers of all walks of life. That
she should be and can be recognized for what she does and who her true self is,
not be prejudged by what color her skin was.

As a fan of all
fantasy, magical, mystical, celestial and other worldly creatures, Sherel began
reading sci-fi/fantasy stories at a young age.

"I have
always been a sci-fi and fantasy type of person. I always felt as a child that
I belonged in those types of worlds rather than here. Reading them had always
been my way of escaping from my shyness as a child."-Sherel Ott. She had
started collecting fairies of all types and now has a mini collection of
collectible faery ornament to decorate her Christmas tree every year.

Sherel creates
her stories first by writing them out and then typing them on the computer. She
feels she gets her inspiration greatest when she writes and from nature itself.
She strives to present her stories in a way that anyone can relate and identify
with no matter how old or young...with a little fun, a little action/adventure,
yet with a hidden message. Writing since the age of 14, her first published
book -ADVENTURES OF PRINCESS JANAI AND THE WARRIOR MAIDENS OF QUINU: THE CITIESOF TONGA AND TONGIA - brings a story of strong African American females. It's
an adventure series particularly geared towards girls, although boys will also
find it an enjoyable read.

When Sherel is
not writing, she is working as a full-time Family Nurse Practitioner and has
been so for the past 17 years. She presently resides in Felton, DE.

All Janai wants
is to be just like everyone else. Being the Princess and having to try out for
the Warrior Maidens is just part of her problems. She has the present Warrior
leader unhappy with the fact that she is trying out, because that means her
time is almost up and she enjoys her “status” too much to give it up without a
fight. Not to mention someone just froze two of her guards into living statues
with the fabled Mist Flowers of Tonga. Now she and a small group of warriors
must travel to a forbidden city and obtain the antidote before the two guards
are lost forever…all in 24 hours. Is she capable? Will she make it in time?

Excerpt

Once every year in the village of Quinu, the
maidens of the village from age 16 to 18 are allowed to try out for a position
as a Warrior Maiden and protector of the Quinu people.The competition matches the maidens go
through are very strenuous and demanding.These matches last for two weeks each spring and very few maidens will
make rank on their first attempt.Those that do, are extremely talented and athletic.

This spring year happened to be very
different and special.The whole
village turned out to watch the competition, for a certain 12-year-old girl was
to be involved in the competitions. Now this was no ordinary 12 year old, for even though she was young, she
already showed that she was going to be a beautiful woman.She has skin as smooth as a
pebble in a running stream and the color of rich mahogany.She has large almond shaped eyes the
color of a new leaf in spring, long coltish legs and a torso that was just
hinting at what she will look like in a few years. Her hair and its ornaments distinguished her status.The top of her head has three braids
that arched out and upwards; then joined at the center of her head to form
three arches (one in the front and one on each side of her head just above her
ears to form a crown of sorts).At
the back of her head, her hair is pulled into a ponytail and hangs down to the
center of her back in one long corkscrew braid. And on her forehead just below the center arch, a circular
ornament made of gold with an amethyst surrounded by four diamonds hangs.The ornament is attached to a gold
thread, which is woven in and out of her hair.This ornament is worn mostly on ceremonial occasions.Normally, she wears a diamond shaped
amethyst stone also attached to a gold wire/thread which is weaved in and out
of her hair. This hairstyle and
decorations distinguishes the Princesses of Quinu.

Now Princess Janai has made it through the
first week of tryouts and out maneuvered all her opponents.The second week proved to be more
demanding and competitive as the participants were narrowed down to only twenty
entrants.

Serlina usually did not
participate in these competitions, but Princess Janai was making fools out of
her Warriors.She has not lost one
match in the last week and a half since competition started.Serlina decided that she would be the
Princess’s opponent for the last three of her matches, just to see if she was
really that good or if the warriors were just afraid to harm her. Her Warrior
Maidens were afraid of no one, but were aware that their main objectives were
to see that the Royal Family came to no harm.

By the second to last day of competition, everyone forgot
about the other entrants.Everyone
was interested only in Princess Janai and Serlina’s hand-to-hand combats.The maidens who made it to the final
combat were already considered to be part of the Warrior Maidens.The announcement at the Ceremony of
Feast was only a formality.The
competition between the Princess and the leader of the Warrior Maidensthough,
was not only highly unusual, but an event not to be missed.

“That
impertinent brat!How DARE she
humiliate me in front of all those people,” roared Serlina.“A twelve year old little nobody.She will pay for this.”

Monday, August 10, 2015

Award-winning
SciFi/fantasy author Christine Amsden brings us her newest novel, MADISON’S SONG, described as an “adventurous
paranormal romance.” Reviewers tout it as a “fast-pace, highly entertaining
read with fully sympathetic and compelling characters.” Amsden, who has written
and published more than a dozen novels, including the Cassie Scot, paranormal
detective series, says that above all she writes stories “about people” and
claims that “Great characters come from the heart.”

Amsden, who likes to spin off
characters to tell new stories, has many ideas for her next novel, but has not
yet decided what it should be. A free-lance editor, she currently lives in
Kansas City with her husband and two children. When she’s not writing, she
likes to read and watch TV – especially science fiction shows.

Q: Your newest
book, MADISON’S SONG, crosses several genres, including romance and paranormal.
How/why did werewolves appeal to you as a way to tell a story about romance? Or
do you use romance to tell a story about werewolves?

Christine
Amsden: I
definitely used werewolves to tell a story about romance! :)

I'm
a character girl. First and foremost, setting aside all genres that I can and
have brushed against, I tell stories about people. Fantasy is fun and magical;
I love it! But also, it puts ordinary people in extraordinary situations,
giving us a chance to see who we are and who we can be when put to the test.
And that's what I did to Madison – put her to the test. I forced her to face
her greatest fear in order to save a brother she loves. Along the way, she
falls in love with Scott, a werewolf who doesn't believe he's worthy of a woman
like Madison.

Q: Your
reviewers praise MADISON’S SONG and say it is a “fast-paced, highly
entertaining read with fully sympathetic and compelling characters.” In a
paranormal romance how do you make your characters sympathetic and compelling?
Does the world-building enhance or detract from your characters?

Christine
Amsden:
Good world-building enhances the characters. It puts them to the test. It shows
us what they're made of.

Great
characters come from the heart. I put a piece of myself into each and every
character I create. And Madison … well, when I first created her as a minor
character in another series, she wasn't supposed to have her own book! So I
made her a little too much like me. This became a challenge when she took the
spotlight, along with all the little insecurities I have about myself – weight,
shyness, men … I even chew my nails and my bottom lip the way she does!

But
when I put Madison to the test, I also put myself to the test. What would I do
if someone I loved were in danger? I hope I would become the lioness Madison
becomes!

At
any rate, the magical world Madison tackles head-on is in every way a test of
character and a test of self.

As
a counter-example: Bad world-building usually involves some magic gift or
talent that makes life easier for the protagonist. I see this too often in
paranormal mystery, in which a psychic uses a gift to solve a crime that
couldn't otherwise have been solved by normal means. I've never enjoyed this
type of story because it's too easy. Instead of the magic being a source of
conflict, it's a deus ex machina – a gift from heaven that conveniently solves
the problem.

Q: Did you do
any research of werewolf lore to tell your story? Or did you create the
backstory from your imagination?

Christine
Amsden:
Strangely enough, I did a research project on werewolves when I was in the sixth
grade! I've read lots of shapeshifter books and stories since then, so that by
the time I wrote this book there wasn't much left to do except decide which of
the many versions of a werewolf to embrace. For me it went back to that sixth
grade research project – I chose the man who becomes a monster at the full
moon.

Q: Reviewers
almost without exception appreciated the pace of MADISON’S SONG:“action and thrills abound” “non-stop action” “intensely
riveting” and my favorite “What I didn’t like about this book, was that it
ended.” How did you develop such a page-turner? How important is suspense to
telling your story?

Christine
Amsden:“What I didn’t like about this book, was that it ended.”

:) :) :)

Yeah, I loved that one too!

Suspense is the glue that holds my
stories together. When I develop a story, character is my most important
consideration and it's where I start. World building comes next – a home for my
characters. After that I look for something to propel the plot forward,
something that will help me explore the characters and the world I put them in.
That's suspense.

Before I can excite the reader, I
have to excite myself. To get them to turn pages, I first need to get myself to
write them! I have a short attention span and am easily bored. As a young
reader, I used to skim past paragraphs that were too long, eager to get to the
good parts! So as an author, I try to only write the good parts.

Q: What makes readers accept werewolves as part of a
credible world? How do you make them believable? What leads to credibility in a
paranormal story?

Christine
Amsden:I own it. This is sort of my mantra – before I can sell
it, I first have to believe it myself. I have to own it. When I write about
magic, I make no apologies and take no prisoners.

Q: How helpful is humor to telling your story?

Christine
Amsden:Comic relief is critical, especially in a book that goes
dark like Madison's Song did. And in terms of romance I think that if there's
too much darkness, it's hard for a reader to believe in the happily ever after.
Love can't just be built on shared tragedy; it needs shared humor as well.

Q:Did you
write MADISON’S SONG strictly to entertain or did you also have a message you
wanted to deliver?

Christine
Amsden:

Themes:

“Love yourself.”

“You never know how strong you are
until you have no other choice.”

“Don't let fear rule your life.”

Or just have fun!

Q: Does the concept of hero vs villain apply to MADISON’S SONG? What are the characteristics of an effective villain? Do you need a
villain to have a hero?

Christine
Amsden:There are several villains in Madison's song – one major
villain who has been a recurring character (but who stays behind the scenes in
this book) and a couple of minor villains. Villains aren't absolutely necessary
(a hero can overcome nature or fate or himself), but they're useful.

I like villains who aren't pure evil.
I may be naive, but I don't believe that people set out to be evil, or that
anyone, no matter how bad, believes himself to be evil. He has his reasons for
what he does (no matter how poorly justified).

And now I feel like I'm getting ahead
of myself, because all of this is actually a huge theme in my next book,
Kaitlin's Tale, in which I take a villain from a previous book and turn him
into a hero. :)

Q: What’s next? Will you spin off another character or
write more about Madison?

Christine
Amsden:Madison's story is over, though she may appear in future
books. Once this situation is resolved, she would really prefer to teach music to
children, and maybe have some of her own.

Kaitlin's Tale is next. Kaitlin is
another friend of Cassie and Madison who grew too big for her original role in
the Cassie Scot series. That book is finished and under contract – it will
probably be out next summer.

As for what's next …. I don't know!
That's as honest as I can be. I've come up with several ideas but none are
calling to me strongly enough at the moment. I have ideas for completely new
stories in completely new worlds, and I have ideas for more Cassie Scot stories
(one involving Cassie herself, and several involving her brothers and sisters).

A few days ago I considered doing a
reader poll asking what fans think I should write next. :)

Something will call to me soon, I'm
sure. I only hope fans will be as enthusiastic as they have been about my
Cassie Scot books.

Q: Tell us something about Christine Amsden. What do you
like to do when you’re not writing?

Christine
Amsden:I'm a freelance editor and a mom. I enjoy reading,
especially fantasy and romance, and I enjoy watching TV, especially science
fiction. I'm currently rewatching Sense8 in the background, my new favorite
show.

About
Christine Amsden

Christine Amsden has been writing
science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember. She loves to write
and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her
stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great
speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through
extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and it is in
this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for
everyone.

Christine currently lives in the
Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the
key to her success. They have two beautiful children.

Madison Carter has been terrified of Scott Lee since the
night he saved her from an evil sorcerer – then melted into a man-eating
monster before her eyes. The werewolf is a slave to the moon, but Madison’s
nightmares are not.

Despite her fears, when Madison’s brother, Clinton, is bitten
by a werewolf, she knows there is only one man who can help. A man who
frightens her all the more because even in her nightmares, he also thrills her.

Together for the first time since that terrible night, Scott
and Madison drive to Clinton’s home only to discover that he’s vanished.
Frantic now, Madison must overcome her fears and uncover hidden strengths if
she hopes to save him. And she’s not the only one fighting inner demons.
Scott’s are literal, and they have him convinced that he will never deserve the
woman he loves.